MSI vs Asrock

[Hassan170]

i plan on using the ryzen 2600 and when looking for a motherboard i came across the ASRock B450M Steel Legend. i had decided to use this motherboard for my first build. But when inquiring for a parts list i came across this mobo MSI B450M PRO-VDH MAX . So now the main question is which one should i go for? I should mention that the store that i plan on buying from has a mobo+cpu combo which for both mobos. this combo includes the ryzen 5 2600 and either one of those mobos i just mentioned. There's a price difference of $5 between the combos (msi is higher) so which one is the better deal?

 

The MSI combo

or

The ASRock combo

 

 

[Jumballi]

asrock looks a bit beefier in cooling, but has a difficult bios. If you don’t plan to do much in terms of things like memory timings and overclocking the cpu, then it’s not much lost.

[191x7]

The COMBO is pricier than the CPU + Motherbobard on the same site. lol

 

MSI B450A Pro Max is a better choice. Or the Tomahawk Max.

 

[Hassan170]

asian pricing 

16 hours ago, 191x7 said:

The COMBO is pricier than the CPU + Motherbobard on the same site. lol

 

MSI B450A Pro Max is a better choice. Or the Tomahawk Max.

 

 

[Hassan170]

16 hours ago, Jumballi said:

asrock looks a bit beefier in cooling, but has a difficult bios. If you don’t plan to do much in terms of things like memory timings and overclocking the cpu, then it’s not much lost.

so you're saying MSI has a better BIOS compared to ASRock in what way specifically? the UI? and i may overclock after a month or two and if memory timings (what is that btw) can improve my performance i would consider doing it as well

[Eigenvektor]

2 minutes ago, Hassan170 said:

if memory timings (what is that btw) can improve my performance i would consider doing it as well

With memory you can either increase its clock speed, which increases its bandwidth, or you can lower its CAS timings, which lowers its latency. In most cases higher memory clocks require higher latencies to still run stable. When overclocking people typically try to increase memory clocks as much possible, while keeping CAS latency as low as possible. You'd have to benchmark to see how much of an actual effect that has on your rig and where the optimum is between higher clocks and lower latencies.

[Hassan170]

@Eigenvektor i see, well in most cases how much of a performance increase does overclocking memory provide in %

[Eigenvektor]

1 minute ago, Hassan170 said:

@Eigenvektor i see, well in most cases how much of a performance increase does overclocking memory provide in %

Hard to say in general. Some games are more sensitive to RAM speed others less so. Here's two videos that test it in several games. They should give you a rough idea of how much you can expect.

 

Memory amount + Single vs Dual Channel

 

Memory Speed

 

[Hassan170]

@Eigenvektor let's say in games like GTA V, R6S and Modern Warfare how much of a performance difference can RAM timings cause?

[Hassan170]

 

@Jumballi

16 hours ago, Jumballi said:

asrock looks a bit beefier in cooling, but has a difficult bios. If you don’t plan to do much in terms of things like memory timings and overclocking the cpu, then it’s not much lost.

so you're saying MSI has a better BIOS compared to ASRock in what way specifically? the UI? and i may overclock after a month or two and if memory timings (what is that btw) can improve my performance i would consider doing it as well

 

[Eigenvektor]

1 minute ago, Hassan170 said:

@Eigenvektor let's say in games like GTA V, R6S and Modern Warfare how much of a performance difference can RAM timings cause?

I wouldn't know, because I haven't played any of those games. Maybe someone else has played those games and tested different memory clocks on them.

[Hassan170]

@Eigenvektorok thanks

16 hours ago, Eigenvektor said:

I wouldn't know, because I haven't played any of those games. Maybe someone else has played those games and tested different memory clocks on them.

 

[Jumballi]

2 minutes ago, Hassan170 said:

 

@Jumballi

so you're saying MSI has a better BIOS compared to ASRock in what way specifically? the UI? and i may overclock after a month or two and if memory timings (what is that btw) can improve my performance i would consider doing it as well

 

From ease in finding the setting to actually being able to adjust it. Probably not that bad, but something to consider nonetheless

[alyen]

ASROCK bios UI aesthetics looks better than MSI bios from what I've seen in many videos. MSI bios may not look as nice as other manufactures, but it still has all the standard bios features.

MSI is easier to flash bios and you can go back to previous versions. ASRock has steps you need to install some earlier bios before flashing to directly to the newest and it also notes you can not flashback to previous bios in some version.

 

Also do not count on ASRock MIR as part of your decision on pricing.

 

 

[Hassan170]

On 12/31/2019 at 8:27 PM, alyen said:

ASROCK bios UI aesthetics looks better than MSI bios from what I've seen in many videos. MSI bios may not look as nice as other manufactures, but it still has all the standard bios features.

MSI is easier to flash bios and you can go back to previous versions. ASRock has steps you need to install some earlier bios before flashing to directly to the newest and it also notes you can not flashback to previous bios in some version.

 

Also do not count on ASRock MIR as part of your decision on pricing.

 

 

MIR?

[madaaron]

4 minutes ago, Hassan170 said:

MIR?

mail in rebate = MIR

[Hassan170]

On 1/3/2020 at 11:41 PM, madaaron said:

mail in rebate = MIR

we don't have that here